The Real MVP
The Spurs steal game 1 and draw first blood in the western conference finals series against the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Real MVP, at least for this game, is Victor Wembanyama.
Whoever thought that awarding the MVP trophy to Shai in front of Victor Wembanyama during Game 1 of the series, must be thanked profusely for the spectacle that followed.
Wemby’s statline after the double OT thriller–41 points, 24 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks in an astounding 49 minutes of play. Those are real MVP numbers. He probably took the MVP award ceremony personally and added it to his fire.
Dylan Harper, who was supposedly the inexperienced rookie, contributed 24 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 7 steals. He was also 7/7 from the free throw line–he drained some key free throws in the overtime periods.
De’Aaron Fox was out due to a bum ankle, and Stephon Castle was tasked to be the primary ball handler. He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists. Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson both had 13 points, and Julian Champagnie had 11. Rookie Carter Bryant had really valuable minutes off the bench.
The Spurs are touted to be the team of the future, and that future seems to have arrived.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are definitely no pushovers, but it seemed like they were the ones playing catch-up the whole time. Shai had 24 and J-dub had 26, but it was Alex Caruso who scored the team high 31 points–the next games would probably carry that trend as the Spurs defense are blitzing Shai early in the possession and sagging off Caruso for the open three.
Chet Holmgren, supposedly the one who could go head-to-head with Wemby, had 8 points and 8 rebounds. The contrast could not have been more pronounced.
If the Thunder do not make any adjustments, they could be in for a bad playoff series. The Spurs look really hungry and aggressive, and Wemby’s having a statement year.
Game 2 is on Thursday, May 21, 8:30 AM PST.
Suggested Daily Fantasy lineup:
Captain: Victor Wembanyama
Vice Captain: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Key picks: Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Alex Caruso, Jalen Williams
